MOVING FORWARD

June 13, 2013
 

Ferocious and gusty are some days, and others like a soft whisper across your cheek.  We're navigating our days and plans like the unpredictable blow of the wind.  Yesterday I was unsure and got very little done. I did anything I could to stop myself from thinking about uprooting our family, leaving the only place I've known as home and starting a new life in an unfamiliar place. I was fearful and doubtful, so sure this wasn't right for us.  
Today though, is calm, warm and bright, which fills me with anticipation and excitement. I  am hopeful and thrilled . . . and more so, ready for new friends, a new home, new adventures and a new path.
 

a sweet little rose vine that just emerged this spring, growing where the iris should be

 

 Kind and encouraging words that I desperately needed to hear from a good friend, the excitement beaming from my husband and my own hopes reassure me that although change is scary, it's good and the only way to move now is forward.

 

Wishes are being granted and dreams are coming true and should we follow where they take us, I'm sure good things are waiting.

 



"Sometimes life takes you in a direction that you never saw yourself going . . . but it turns out to be the best road you have ever taken."  

 

I hope a big strong wind scoops up any left over doubts and carries them far far away.

TAKING THE OTHER PATH

June 6, 2013

     I walked through the backyards again this morning, just as the sun was rising.   Instead of crossing over to the house with the peonies,  I turned left and took the other path.  And this is what I've been missing every spring morning for the past fourteen years.



 

I didn't take my scissors, but I was bold enough to stand in the middle of their gardens and take a lot of pictures.  

And just like with the peony lady, I got caught in the act . . . but was invited back to cut a few flowers. 

 

 There are some amazing gardens in my neighborhood and some very nice neighbors, that if I hadn't been sneaking around at the crack of dawn, I might never have met. 

PEONIES AND POTATO PIE

May 30, 2013

 

Two of my favorite things came together yesterday in a very good way.  Freshly bloomed peonies and fresh new potatoes ... a blend of delicate and hearty that brought perfect harmony to my kitchen. 

 

I've been inspired lately to look at cooking as an art, where each dish is created with a mix of ingredients that I wouldn't normally have in my cupboards, and with each bite, a different sense is awakened. Where the taste of the food is etched in your memory as completely pleasurable and utterly satisfying.
Last night I made potato pie, which really isn't a pie at all, and was satisfying in a comfort sort of way. I couldn't resist the bags of small potatoes and fresh garlic for sale at the little nursery up the road.  I could spend hours there, lingering around the rows of fresh vegetables and flowers, carrying around the old crates they give to you to fill. I love feel of it there, like I've left the city and have been transported to a country village somewhere.  Just being there let's me get lost in daydreams.  I left with a bag of potatoes, fresh garlic, a jar of pepper jelly, baby squash and a purple plum dripping with sweet juice.

 

 

Really this meal is nothing more than potatoes, sweet red ones preferably, onion, peppers, and cloves of fresh garlic all roasted together in heaps of salted butter.  I threw in some yellow cherry tomatoes for an unexpected tangy twist. It's warm and hearty and fills your kitchen with that grounded home cooked meal smell. 

 

 And the vases of the peonies around the house had me giddy all day.  I discovered a hidden bush in the alley behind the flower shop, so I no longer have to sneak through the backyards before the sun comes up to steal a few blooms off my neighbor's bush.  Every year I'm tempted to plant my own, but I love the thrill of secretly gathering my bouquets.  

 

There is a balance right now in my home.  Warm days and stormy nights, sweet delicate flowers and hearty savory meals.

 

  xo Sarah

DATE NIGHT

May 25, 2013

 

If you cross the river and wind around and around in the bluffs of Iowa, you will come to a spot perched so high and so beautiful, it will take your breath away.  After twenty years, it still takes mine.  It is hidden behind rusty iron gates, wildflowers and hanging twisted vines, with the most heavenly angels watching over.  It is mysterious and peaceful and full of folklore and rumors. 

 

The first time I visited here was nearly twenty years ago when Chad brought me here on one of  our first dates.  I was a little ashamed that I've lived here all my life and never knew such a beautiful place existed, nor had I ever heard the stories about the mysterious things that happen during the darkest hours of night or the angel who's eyes follow you.  

 

 

In fact, it has been times with Chad that I have seen and visited some of the most beautiful places.... hidden beautiful places.  Places that were begging to be discovered, that we came across by pure accident, but have become some of my favorite days in my life. 

 

I remember this date night so vividly, it's permanently etched in my memories as one of the most perfect nights ever.  And last night's date was a perfect recreation of that night. . . the night when he told me that he was taking me to a beautiful spot that overlooked the city to see an angel that turns dark even after the caretakers wash her.  When we reached the gates as the sun was going down, the crush I had on him turned into full blown love.  

 

* * * * * * * * *

 

We went to dinner last night, just the two of us, to celebrate all we've been through the past year and the dreams we're about to see come true.  And instead of going straight home, we ended up driving those windy roads one more time as the sun was setting.

 

 We walked around and looked at the headstones of people who may have overlooked those bluffs too, some of them centuries before us.  We followed behind a man who was thoughtfully placing a  flag on every grave that was marked military. He was so deep in thought, almost prayer like as he stood in front of each name marker and then bent down to place the flag. I couldn't bring myself to pass him, and I was so touched by him that I felt compelled to just follow and watch.    

 

 

 

We ended the night back on the steps under the dark angel, black as night and her eyes staring down at me.  I remember thinking back then how romantic it was being scared and how I turned so willing into Chad's arms for comfort and security.

 

Thank you dark angel for another perfect night and another beautiful memory.

 

It goes without saying, I still think date nights are pretty awesome.



IN THE KITCHEN

May 21, 2013

 

I finally have a day off from the flower shop and had all good intentions of completing some things on my to-do list...the growing list of things that need to be done around here should we finalize our decision to move.  The things that haven't bothered us for the past fifteen years are now glaring at us to change, repair, paint or rip out.  It's hard to imagine that someone else won't walk in here and fall in love with this house the way I did, but I was a realtor for many years and I know the game....so fix and change we do.  

 

I mostly worked in the kitchen today, putting a fresh coat of paint in the open cabinets, changing window hardware and organizing what goes and what stays.  Most of it went. My mother says I'm too young to start getting rid of all my things, but I explain to her that the more stuff you have, the more tied down you are to it all.  It's really just a matter of deciding what you want to surround yourself with. What makes you feel good and inspires you . . . like flowers and plants for me. I don't see how you can ever have enough flowers around or enough jars and white pitchers to put them in.  Very few things made the cut and I feel freer already.

 

 

I really just want to start new ... with a clean slate.  What's old is old and what's new, or new to me, will be cherished and used.  I always thought we lived simply, but we live with gross excess...that is the honest truth.  I can see it and I can feel it.  So, I'm looking forward to the inspiration of starting new in a small town in the country.

 

 

This room has very much been the heart of our home. The look and feel of it has changed many times over the years, but it always seems to mold itself perfectly with all the ebb and flows of our family. 

 

My hope is that the new family that calls this place home, will have wonderful  and memorable times in it as well.  ( and I really hope that they like glossy white open cabinets . . . because I threw out the doors )   

 

 

Give someone a hug tonight and say a prayer for those in need.